Ch 4 – Nuff Sed (Desert Steve) The Dalton Gang (historical & literary background)

This is part 4 of a series of posts exploring the rich historical and literary background to my novel, Nuff Sed: a Novel of Desert Steve.

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This chapter, “He Who Makes A Crooked Trail…,” takes place three years after the end of the last chapter, in 1892.

Historicity and Fiction

As noted previously, Steve’s Uncle Robert is a fictional character, introduced to explain and foreshadow Steve’s aversion to alcohol.

The Ragsdale family’s encounter with the Reverend Blailock is fictional, setting up Steve’s interest in faith and ministry.

Steve playing “posse” in. The second scene sets up the Dalton Gang event. The fact that Steve wanted to be the law rather than the villains shows us his integrity and desire to do the right thing as he saw it. The discussion about Steve possibly growing up to be a lawman foreshadows later in life when he did come a sheriff.

The story of the Dalton Gang attempting to pull off a double-robbery in Coffeyville is historical. The gang attempted to rob the Condon Bank and First National Bank, situated across the street from one another. (Steve’s part is fictional, but demonstrates the character’s grit and coolness under pressure, traits that serve him well later in life as part of the novel’s narrative.)

The Dalton gang had been going about Oklahoma, wreaking havoc with robberies and murders, and avoiding the law. On October 5, 1892, the attempted this bold, daytime robbery. (Coffeyville was the old hometown of the Dalton brothers.)

Bob and Emmett Dalton went to the First National Bank, while Grat Dalton, along with Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers went to the Condon Bank. But someone in the town recognized them and spread the word. By the time the robbers came out of the bank, some of the townspeople alerted the sheriff and then assembled with guns outside. Every member of the gang was killed except for Emmett Dalton, with four townspeople killed.

Emmett stood trial and was convicted, spending fourteen years in prison. Released on parole, he became a screenwriter in Hollywood. He died in 1937 at age 66.

Needless to say, this was an important event in the history of Coffeyville, so I felt it needed to be included in the story of Steve. Having him involved in the shooting was a way to incorporated that, but also to show some of his character., even as a young boy.

Desert Steve’s Quotes

The title of this chapter comes from one of Steve’s definitions, in this case, the definition of “a graft” from his little booklet entitled _Philosophy and Sayings of Desert Steve_. For the purposes of the novel, of course, this is an allusion to the death of Robert due to drinking, and the deaths of the Dalton Gang.

Other Historical Events

• There was a New York Stock Exchange crash due to a panic on May 5, 1892.
• On November 7 of the same year, Colorado passed a law allowing women to vote.

Onward

The next chapter, “God Alone Can Understand,” picks up where the last chapter left off and continues through 1901, depicting Steve as growing up, a love interest, and his choice of career.

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